Carburetor



Oct. 18, 1960 c. E. JOHNSON CARBURETOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 28, 1958 IN V EN TOR.

N w W J E e p w A? T TOIQ/VE 4 Oct. 18, 1960 c. E. JOHNSON 2,956,791

CARBURETOR Filed Nov. 28. 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 (#09455 E. Jo /v50 3' 7 INVENTOR.

Patented Oct. 18, 1960 CARBURETOR I Charles E. Johnson, 860 Ogden St., Denver, Colo.

Filed NOV. 28, 1958, Ser. N0. 776,847

8 Claims. (Cl. 261-145) This invention relates to a fuel-feed system for internal combustion engines and, more particularly, to a carburetor adapted for use in a fuel-feed system where the fuel is preheated after being mixed with a relatively small quantity of air prior to its entering the carburetor housing. a I

In the prior art, carburetors have been constructed for use with preheated fuel, but these have never been particularly successful. it has been found that by preheating the fuel after it has been mixed with a small, predetermined amount of air that unusual results are obtained.

It is, therefore, an objectof the present invention to provide an improved carburetor and attachments thereto in a fuel-feed system in which fuel is heated after being mixed with a small portion of air.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a carburetor by which great economy is achieved in the operation of gasoline engines.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a carburetor with attachments to provide a smoother running gasoline engine with increased power output.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a carburetor and attachments thereto which substantially eliminate unburned fuel and thereby tend to reduce air polution.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a carburetor in which the air flow is not restricted so as to cause more suction on the nozzle. I

It is another object of the present invention to provide a. carburetor in which the fuel mixture is not enriched by restricting air flow to cause more suction on the nozzle but is enriched by simply increasing the'fuel supply as desired.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a carburetor in which no choking is required.

With these and other objects in view, this invention consists in certain details in the construction, combinations and arrangement of parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully described whereby objects contemplated are attained as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in the claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the carburetor and heat exchanger assembly;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional, elevational view of the carburetor and mixing chamber in the non-operative position;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional, elevational view of the carburetor in an operation position;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, cross-sectional view of a primer control;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the fuel valve lever; and

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the control arm.

Referring to Fig. 1, carburetor housing 1 is shown in According to the present invention,

the fuel system assembly in which it discharges fuel and air into the intake manifold 6. Better shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is gasoline inlet line 7 which discharges into the metering chamber 13 of jet housing 12, through gasoline inlet 14, depending upon regulation of needle valve 15 seated in inlet 14. Jet housing 12 is secured to carburetor housing 1 by screws 22. Also connected to jet housing 12, is threadedly engaged, air-adjusting plug 54.

The inner end of plug 54 is open to air adjusting holes I 55 and the adjusted position of the plug 54 in housing 12 determines the-amount of air permitted to enter mixing chamber 13.

On the discharge of jet housing 12 is tube 4 which forms the inlet to heat exchanger 2. Here the heat exchanger is shown as a tube extending for a desirabledistance into the normally hot exhaust manifold-3. The. heat exchanger obviously may be in other forms, but is 1 so proposed for economy. Tube 5 carries a completely vaporized fuel and air mixture from the heat exchanger to opening 5a which forms the means by which the heated fuel-air mixture enters into the carburetor housing be- I tween its respective ends.

The main air inlet to the carburetor housing 1 is through opening 9 in air sleeve 44, typically secured to housing 1. Secured diametrically across sleeve 44 is bar 10. Sleeve 43 extends through bar 10 and is secured thereto.

Pin 11 is slidably engaged in sleeve 43 and above the wardly against the force of spring 45, as shown in Fig. 4,-

air is permitted to flow into the housing 1 between the periphery of the disk and the enlarged diameter portion 56 lixtending downwardly from disk 42 on pin 11 may be I a nut 39 which has an extension on its lower end including a vertical pin 40 extending between twoyhorizontal plates 40a. Pin 40 extends through slot 33a between aligned transversely spaced loops 33 of control arm 32. Loops 33 are slidably engaged with the inner surface of plates 40a and pin 40. Control arm 32, shown in Fig. 7,

consists substantially of an elongated flat main body portion 36 from which extends upwardly folded portions '35 which form loop 34. Portion 36 of the control arm extends substantially parallel to the horizontal leg portion of the L-shaped carburetor housing. Extending from folded portions 35 is an upwardly directed portion 37 which terminates vertically in lever arm end portion 38. Tongue portion 37 may be typically approximately per pendicular to main body portion 36.

Shown in Figs. 2, 4 and 5, primer 46 has its adjusting knob 47 externally on one side of adjustment housing27 adapted for hand rotation. an axle or rotational bearing surface 48 from which extends cylinder 49 eccentrically mounted with respect to axle 48. Outwardly from eccentric portion 49 is a second shaft 50 to which a lever may be attached for remote and/or automatic operation and which extendsthrough a second wall of housing 27 for rotation therein.

Within housing 27, eccentric 49 is fitted in loop 34 of. control arm 32 so that rotation of eccentric 49 will raise Just inwardly of knob 47 is and at the other end are aligned and spaced approximate semicircular tongues 26. Intermediate of the ends of lever 23 is the curved, raised portion 25 which-istypically formed in lever 23 so as to not interfere with-loop 34:

on control arm 32. Loops 24 are pivotally engaged with a. tranverse pin or axle 30- extending through the lower end of a substantially vertical main adjustment pin 29. Adjustment pin 29 is slidably engaged incap 31 in housing 27 and extends outwardly therefrom where it is threadedly engaged with adjustment nut 28 which abutsthe top external surface of cap 31. Pin 29 is biased downward by spring 29a.

semicircular tongues 26 are slidably engaged with needle 16 which extends into slot 18 forming the space between the tongues. Above semicircular portions 26 on needle 16 is a circular needle flange 19. Extending upwardly from flange 19 is needle upper end 19a in spring 20. The upper end of spring 20 abuts the inner top surface of spring housing 21 and the lower end of spring 20 abuts the needle flange 19 so as to tend to hold needle valve 15 in inlet 14 and to tend to hold lever 23 and end portion 38 of control arm 32 in depressed positions. Needle 16 is slidably engaged inneedle sleeve 17 which extends upwardly from jet housing 12 into the carburetor housing 1.

At the discharge end of carburetor housing 1 is the air and fuel gas mixture outlet 53', which is connected to the engine intake manifold 6. Just upwardly of outlet 53 is butterfly valve 51 rotatable with shaft 52 which is connected to external shaft 8a. Shaft 8a is in turn connected to lever 8 operable from an accelerator, for example, to open butterfly valve 51 so as to create a vacuum in the carburetor housing.

In operation, butterfly valve 51 is opened by the operator when the engine is turned over by the starter. The starting of the engine creates a vacuum within carburetor housing 1 so as to cause disk 42-to be moved downwardly against the bias of spring 45 and thus allows air to enter the-carburetor through inlet 9 and the space provided by the enlarged diameter portion 56 of housing 1 radially outwardly from disk 42 in its lowered position. The air flow passage is indicated by the arrows shown in Fig. 4. Downward movement of disk 42 is accom panied by the downward motion of plates 40a in which loops 33 slide. When this occurs, the other end- 38 of control arm 32 is raised and loop 34 rotates on the eccentric portion 49 of primer 46.

When end portion 38 is raised, it causes tongues 26 of lever- 23 to raise exerting pressure against flange 19 and spring 20. By this action and by the force of the fuel, such as gasoline, in tube 7, needle valve 15 is then opened. By means of the vacuum created in the carburetor housing, a partial vacuum is also developed in tube 4, heat exchanger 2, and tube which is open into the carburetor. The vacuum or partial vacuum in tube 4 creates a suction in metering chamber 13 where the liquid gasoline is mixed with air which enters chamber 13 through holes 55 in plug 54. The principal purpose of the small but predetermined amount of air which enters chamber 13 through holes 55 is to aid in forcing the gasoline into and through the heat exchanger. If the gasoline pressure is great enough, it will flow into the heat exchanger without the aid of the air and the air holes 55 may be adjusted to the closed position. The gasoline is metered as it enters chamber 13 through inlet 14 and, thus, all the gasoline that is required to run the engine in any type of operation is heated before it enters the carburetor, but none of the gasoline is heated before it is metered and required for operation.

The liquid gasoline entering tube 4 is completely vaporized in the heat exchanger and enters the carburetor as a heated fuel gas. In the carburetor, this vaporized fuel is mixed with the normal air supply and discharged to the intake manifold through carburetor outlet- 53.

The main adjustment of the carburetor is achieved by rotation nut 28 which raises and lowers pin 29 so that loops 24 of lever 23 are raised or lowered. When pin 29 is thus moved vertically and end 38 of control arm 32 is in contact with the lower face of lever 23, end 38 acts as a fulcrum and tongues 26 at the other end of the lever are also moved in the vertical direction but opposite to that of loops 24.

For starting, more fuel is added by means of primer 46 which can raise or lower loop 34 by means of the eccentrically mounted cylinder 49. As the eccentric is turned, the highest surface contacts the inner top of loop 34 and end 38 is raised so as to, in turn, raise lever 23 and needle valve 15 out of inlet 14. This adjustment allows more gasoline to enter the carburetor on starting and eliminates choking by putting air restrictions in the carberetor.

Prior to the Warm-up of the engine, the engine will operate on the non-heated mixture of gasoline and air because of the additional gasoline caused to enter the carburetor by means of primer 46. Thus, the present invention provides means to automatically measure the exact proportion of air and gasoline at all times and under any conditions. Further, there is no bucking of the engine at low speeds, but most important, by preheating a mixture of the fuel and a small amount of air and delivering it to the carburetor to further mix with the regular air supply, the engine operates at the peak of efiiciency because there is no waste of fuel. Since there is no wasted fuel, there is an increase from 30 to 50% better mileage in an automobile without loss of power.

In addition, the exhaust will discharge few, if any, unburned hydrocarbons and thus the present invention provides, an ideal system for eliminating smog produced by automobiles.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated in detail, it is to be clearly understood that the same is by way of illustration and example only and is not to be taken by way limitation, the spirit and scope of this invention being limited by the terms of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a fuel system for an internal combustion engine, a carburetor housing of generally cylindrical cross-section having an air inlet at one end thereof and a fuel and air mixture discharge. outlet at the other end thereof; said carburetor housing being generally L-shaped, said inlet end being adjacent the top of the vertical portion of said L; a metering chamber adjacent said housing; an adjustable air inlet to said metering chamber; a fuel inlet to said metering chamber; a needle valve in said metering chamber to regulate the flow of fuel through said fuel inlet into said chamber; a discharge outlet from said chamber; said last-mentioned outlet connected to an inlet end of a heat exchanger; said heat exchanger connected to discharge to said carburetor housing between its respective ends; a disk means slidably engaged in and spring biased to close said inlet end of said carburetor housing, said carburetor housing having an enlarged diameter portion immediately downward and inwardly from said disk in said closed position; said disk being slidable to be moved into said enlarged diameter portion so that air may enter said carburetor housing between the periphery of said disk and said enlarged diameter portion; and means connected to said disk and to said needle valve to vary the amount of fuel flowing into said mixing chamber at a predetermined amount in accordance with the slidable movement of said disk within said carburetor housing.

2. In a fuel system for an internal combustion engine, a generally cylindrical carburetor housing having an air inlet at one end thereof and a fuel and air mixture discharge'outlet at the other end thereof; a jet housing secured to said carburetor housing, said jet housing having a metering chamber; an adjustable air inlet to said close said one end of said carburetor; said means to close being slidably engaged in said one end and being fitted to be in a closed position when said carburetor is inoperative; said carburetor housing having an enlarged diameter portion immediately inwardly of said means to close; said means to close being slidable to be moved into said enlarged diameter portion so that air may enter said carburetor between said means to close and said enlarged diameter portion; an elongated control arm slidably engaged to an elongated portion extending inwardly within said carburetor housing from said means to close; a needle having one end thereof adapted to extend into said fuel inlet in said jet housing and forming a valve to regulate the flow of fuel into said jet housing; the other end of said needle extending into said carburetor housing; main adjustment means in said carburetor housing to set the position of said needle with respect to said fuel inlet; primer means to additionally adjust the position of said needle; said control arm being pivotally mounted adjacent its other end on said primer means; a lever pivotally mounted at one end thereof on said main adjustment means and having its other end in contact with said needle in said carburetor housing; a spring biasing said other end of said lever and said needle to tend to hold :said other end of said needle in said fuel inlet in said "jet housing; the other end of said control arm being in contact with said lever adjacent its other end so that when a vacuum is created in said carburetor housing, said means to close will move inwardly in said housing to downwardly move said one end of said control arm so that its other end will move against said lever and said spring to vary the flow of fuel through said fuel inlet a predetermined amount.

3. In a fuel system for an internal combustion engine, an L-shaped carburetor having a generally cylindrical cross-section; said carburetor having an air inlet adjacent the top of the vertical portion of said L and having a fuel and air mixture discharge outlet at the other end of said L; a fuel metering chamber externally below said carburetor; an air inlet to said metering chamber; a fuel inlet to said metering chamber; a discharge outlet from said chamber; said last-mentioned outlet being connected to the inlet end of a heat exchanger; the other end of carburetor; said disk being spring biased so as to be held in a closed position; said carburetor having an enlarged diameter portion immediately inwardly and downwardly from said disk; said disk being slidable to be moved into said enlarged diameter portion against the bias of said spring so that. air may enter the carburetor between the periphery of said disk and said enlarged diameter portion; a control arm slidably engaged atone end on a first pin secured to said disk inwardly thereof within said carburetor; said control arm extending generally parallel to said horizontal portion of said L in said carburetor and being mounted adjacent its other end on a rotatably adjustable eccentric pin so that the rotation of said pin will raise and lowerthe other end of said control arm; a needle having its pointed lower end adapted to be slidably engaged in said fuel inlet in said'chamberso as to form a valve with said inlet; said needle having its upper end extending into said carburetor; a lever pivotally mounted at one end thereof on a second pin within said carburetor, said second pin being adapted to be raised and lowered so as to change the pivot point of said lever; said lever being contacted adjacent its other end on its lower side by the other end of said control arm; said other end of the control arm being upwardly directed and at substantially right angles to that portion thereof being substantially parallel to said horizontal portion of said L; said other end of said lever being in contact with said needle adjacent its other end so that when said disk is moved downward, the control arm will be downwardly moved at said one end and said other end thereof will raise said lever and thereby cause said needle to move upwardly out of said fuel inlet.

4. In a fuel system for an internal combustion engine, an L-shaped carburetor having a generally cylindrical cross section; said carburetor having an air inlet adjacent the top of the vertical end portion of said L-shape and having a fuel and air mixture discharge outlet at the other end of said L; a metering chamber externally below said carburetor; an air inlet to said chamber; a fuel inlet to said chamber; a discharge outlet from said chamber, said last-mentioned outlet being connected to the inlet end of a heat exchanger; the other end of said heat exchanger being connected to discharge to said carburetor between its respective ends; a generally horizontal disk slidably engaged in and fitted to close said vertical end of said carburetor, said disk being spring biased so as to be held in position to close said vertical end; said carburetor having an enlarged diameter portion immediately inwardly and downwardly from said disk in said closed position, said disk being slidable to be moved into said enlarged diameter portion against the bias of said spring so that air may enter the carburetor between the periphery of said disk and said enlarged diameter portion of said carburetor; an elongated control arm slidably engaged at one end thereof on one end of a first pin, said first pin secured to and extending downwardly from said disk so that said one end thereof is within said carburetor; said control arm extending generally parallel to the direction of the horizontal leg of said L in said carburetor and being mounted adjacent its other end on a rotatably adjustable eccentic pin so that the rotation of said pin will raise and lower the other end of said control arm; a substantially vertical needle having its pointed lower end slidably engaged in said fuel inlet in said chamber so as to form a valve with said fuel inlet; said needle extending into said carburetor and having its upper end spring biased in the downward direction so that its lower end tends to remain in said fuel inlet; a substantially horizontal lever pivotally mounted at one end thereof on a second pin' removably secured to said carburetor, said second pin being adapted to be raised and lowered so as to change the pivot point of said lever, the other end of said lever being connected to move said needle vertically upwardly; said lever being in contact adjacent its other end on its lower side with the other end of said control arm; the other end of said control arm being upwardly directed substantially at a right angle to that portion thereof being substantially parallel to said horizontal direction of said L; whereby when a vacuum is created in said carburetor, said disk is moved downwardly so that the other end of said control arm will tend to raise said lever so as to raise said needle out of said fuel inlet and thereby permit a predetermined amount of fuel to enter said chamber, said heat exchanger and said carburetor.

5. A carburetor comprising: an air inlet at one end thereof and a gasoline and air mixture discharge outlet at the other end thereof; a fuel metering chamber on said carburetor externally thereof; a discharge on said chamber to deliver metered fuel to a heat exchanger; means to receive heated fuel from a heat exchanger into said carburetor between said respective ends; slidably engageable means to close said one end of said carburetor; said last-mentioned means being biased to be in a closed position when said carburetor is inoperative; said means to close being adapted to move inwardly into said carburetor when a vacuum is created therein; means to permit air to enter said carburetor around said means to close when it is moved inwardly by said vacuum; and means to vary the flow of gasoline to said carburetor in a predetermined amount dependingupon the amount of movementof said means to closein said' one end.

6. A carburetor comprising: a housing having generally cylindrical cross section; said housing having an air inlet at one end thereof and a fuel and air mixture discharge outlet at the other end thereof; said carburetor housing being generally L-shaped; said inletend being adjacent the top of the vertical portion of said L; afuel metering chamber adjacent said housing externally thereof; an adjustable air inlet to said chamber; a fuel inlet to said chamber; a needle valve in said chamber to meter the flow of fuel through said fuel inlet into said chamber; means connected between said chamber and said housing to heat said metered fuel and to discharge it into said carburetor housing-between its respective ends; disk means slidably engaged in and spring biased to close said inlet end of said carburetor housing; said carburetor housing having an enlarged diameter portion immediately downwardly and inwardly from said disk in said closed position, said disk being slidable to be moved into said enlarged diameter portion so that air may enter said carburetor housing between the periphery of said disk and said enlarged diameter portion; and means connected to said disk and to said needle valve to vary the amount of fuel flowing into said carburetor in a predetermined amount in accordance with the slidable movement of said disk within said carburetor housing.

7. A carburetor comprising: a generally cylindrical housing having an air inlet at one end thereof and a fuel and air mixture discharge outlet at the other end thereof; a jet housing secured to said carburetor housing; said jet housing having a metering chamber; an adjustable air inlet to said chamber; a fuel inlet to said chamber; means to receive fuel from said chamber to preheat said fuel and discharge said heated fuel to said carburetor housing between its respective ends; means to close said one end of said carburetor; said means to close being slidably engaged in said one end and being fitted to be in -a closed position when said carburetor is inoperative; said carburetor housing having an enlarged diameter portion immediately inward of said means to close; said means to close being slidable to be moved into said enlarged diameter portion so that air from said air inlet may enter said carburetor between said means to close and said enlarged diameter portion; an elongated control arm slidably engaged at one end thereof to a pin extending inwardly within said carburetor housing from said means to close; aneedle having one end thereof adapted to extend into said fuel inlet in said jet housing and forming a valve to regulate the flow of fuel into said jet housing, the other end of said needle extending into said carburetor housing; main adjustment means in said carburetor housing to set the position of said needle with respect to said fuel inlet; primer means to additionally adjust the position of said needle, said control arm being pivotally mounted adjacent its other end on said primer means; a lever pivotally mounted at one end thereof on said main adjustment means and having its other end in pressure-responsive contact with said needle in said carburetor housing; a spring biasing said other end of said lever to tend to hold said other end of said needle in said fuel inlet in said jet housing; the other end of said control arm being in contact with said lever adjacent its other end so that when a vacuum is created in said carburetor housing, said means to close will move inwardly in said housing to downwardly move said one end of said control arm so that. its other end will move against said lever and saidspring to vary the flow of fuel through said fuel inlet a predetermined amount.

8. A carburetor comprising: an L-shaped housing having a generally cylindrical cross section; said housing having an air inlet adjacent the top of the vertical end portion of said L and having a fuel and air mixture discharge outlet at the other end of said L; a metering chamber secured externally to and below said housing; an air inlet to said chamber; a fuel inlet to said chamber; means connected to said chamber to supply and heat fuel from said last-mentioned chamber to said carburetor housing between its respective ends; a generally horizontal disk slidably engaged in and fitted to close said vertical end of said carburetor; said disk being spring biased so as to be held in position to close said vertical end; said carburetor having an enlarged diameter portion inwardly and downwardly from said disk in said closed position; said disk being slidable to be moved into said enlarged diameter portion against the bias of said spring so that air may enter the carburetor between the periphery of said disk and said enlarged diameter portion of said carburetor; an elongated control arm slidably engaged at one end thereof on one end of a first pin; said first pin secured to and extending downwardly from said disk so that said one end thereof is within said housing; said control arm extending parallel to the direction of the horizontal leg of said L in said housing and being mounted adjacent its other end on a rotatably adjustable eccentric pin so that the rotation of said last-mentioned pin will raise and lower the other endof said control arm; a substantially vertical needle having its pointed lower end slidably engaged in said fuel inlet in said chamber so as to form a valve with said inlet; said needle extending into said carburetor housing and having its upper end spring biased in the downward direction so that its lower end tends to remain in said fuel inlet; a substantially horizontal lever pivotally mounted at one end thereof on a second pin removably secured to said carburetor housing; said second pin being adapted to be raised and lowered so as to change the pivot point of said lever; the other end of said lever being connected to move said needle vertically upwardly; said lever being in contact adjacent its other end on its lower. side and With the other end of said control arm; the other end References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,654,622 Wheeler Jan. 3, 1928 1,681,937 Holley Aug. 28, 1928 1,737,587 Hiester Dec. 3, 1929 1,809,242 Kingston June 9, 1931 2,128,079 Dawes Aug. 23, 1938 2,261,446 Ormsby Nov. 4, 1941 2,339,105 Pickering Jan. 11, 1944 2,460,528 Oswald Feb. 1, 1949 2,892,692 Anderson June 30, 1959 

